The Lake
Rice Lake has been measured, surveyed, drawn down, aerated and photographed for more than twenty years. This is the record.
Water level & the dam
Rice Lake is fed by Elm Creek and held by a dam built in 1969. The dam was damaged by vandalism in 2021–22 and has operated under constraints since — it cannot pass high flows properly, and the City of Maple Grove has scheduled repairs for a 2029–30 drawdown.
Navigation & buoys
Rice Lake has no public access, but all Minnesota boating laws apply. Navigational buoys are deployed each spring by volunteers and pulled in the fall.
Winter aeration
A diffuser system keeps a patch of open water through the winter so fish survive under the ice. It runs 24/7 once the ice is thick enough to work on, and it requires a DNR permit, a newspaper public notice, and thin-ice signs around the perimeter. Eleven seasons are documented.
| Season | Ran | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | Dec 20 – Mar 29 | 4 diffuser openings; system extended to 1,000 ft from shore |
| 2024–25 | Dec 14 – Mar 14 | Motor failure in January, repaired and restarted |
| 2023–24 | Jan 21 – Feb 12 | Shut down early — weakening ice, signs falling in |
| 2022–23 | — | April 2023 winterkill documented |
| 2021–22 | — | Winterkill following the 2021–22 drawdown |
| 2020–21 | — | Season chronology and photos |
| 2019–20 | — | Season chronology and photos |
| 2018–19 | — | Season chronology and photos |
| 2017–18 | — | Season chronology and photos |
| 2015–16 | — | Earliest season page on the site |
Drawdowns
Lowering the lake over winter freezes and kills invasive Curlyleaf Pondweed and Eurasian Watermilfoil in the shallows. Each one needs shoreline-owner approval, a City of Maple Grove vote, and a MN DNR permit.
| Season | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | Completed | Bypass opened Sept 22, 2025. Level reached 5.64 ft below normal. June 2026 survey showed reduced Curlyleaf Pondweed and Eurasian Watermilfoil under 5 ft. |
| 2021–22 | Completed | Dam vandalism during this drawdown left the structure operating under constraints ever since. Winterkill followed. |
| 2020–21 | Completed | Photo record and permit documentation. |
| 2014–15 | Completed | Drawdown and dam bypass photo record. |
| 2004–05 | Completed | Early drawdown; part of the long-running AIS management effort. |
| 2002–03 | Completed | Earliest drawdown documented on the site. |
| 2029–30 | Planned | City of Maple Grove will repair the dam during this drawdown. |
Ice in & ice out
The association has tracked ice dates since 1988. The DNR lists Rice Lake as Rice 270116.
| Season | Ice in | Ice out | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | — | March 29, 2026 | |
| 2023–24 | January 4, 2024 | March 4, 2024 | Earliest ice-out and latest ice-in on record — shortest season |
| 2016–17 | — | March 7, 2017 | Previous earliest ice-out |
| 1987–88 | — | March 8, 1988 | Earliest record kept by the association |
A full ice-date table back to 1988 lives in the association's records and belongs on this page — it's the kind of long series people actually cite.
Surveys & water quality
Independent consultants survey the fishery and the plant community. These are the documents behind every drawdown decision.
AIS plant survey
June 2026 delineation of Curlyleaf Pondweed and Eurasian Watermilfoil — showed the 2025–26 drawdown worked.
2026 · PDFFish survey
Blue Water Science population survey.
2024 · PDFZebra mussels
DNR listed Rice Lake in October 2024 after mussels were found on sampling plates.
2024 · PressBlue-green algae
MPCA guidance after the August 2025 bloom. Keep people and pets out of the water during a bloom.
2025 · PDFDocument archive
Roughly forty files live on the current site, reachable only through "click here" links buried in the timeline. In a rebuild they'd be indexed by category and year, and searchable.
Meeting minutes
Annual, board and special meetings.
Annual meetings 2024–2026Permits & legal
DNR drawdown and aeration permits, bylaws, statutes.
AERP3222 and othersMaps
Depth, aerial, storm sewer, street and property.
6 mapsMember communications
Seasonal email updates to members.
2024–2026Photo records
Drawdowns, dam bypass, winterkill, tree trimming, shoreline erosion.
2002–2026Website statistics
Annual traffic reports the board has published since 2010.
17 years